Tucker cooling system and other questions

[tuckerradio]

I have questions on the cooling system and electrical.


First, in the movie, they talk about 24v electrical system. Did the 589 engine require the 24v? Do stock Tuckers have 2 six volt batteries in series?

Are Tuckers water or air cooled.

Thanks,

Tony

[Tuckerfan1053]

I don't believe that the 589 required 24V, but Tucker wanted higher voltage than 6, since the performance of 6V gear was pretty bad (car makers switched to 12 V in the 50s because of that and would like to go to 42 V as soon as they can figure out how to build a system that won't kill someone when they try to jump start a 12 V car with it). The helicopter engine the Tucker's engine was based on was air cooled, but Tucker had it converted to water cooling for use in the car. If left idling for long periods of time, they can overheat due to it being an unpressurized system.